Microsoft Sued Over Kinect

Impulse Technology says it created the technology first, and the company would like the courts to do something about it.

The Ohio-based firm claims that Microsoft's motion tracking sensor violates seven of its patents, include those that cover a "wide variety of games where the movement of a player is tracked in three dimensions…and certain exercise games where the motion of the player is tracked to effect movement of a virtual avatar, and the exertion of the user is monitored, including where the tracking of the player is done by the use of a camera."

Other publishers are also named in the suit, including EA, Konami, and Sega, all for making games for the Kinect that also violate the patents.

If the case succeeds, it could affect any number of issues surrounding Microsoft's ability to sell the Kinect and its games, and might also result in significant damages to the software giant.

Like any case, it's likely to be a long time before we hear any final say on how it will turn out. When there is progress on the case, we'll let you know.